Ms. Tamar Taliashvili, Vice-President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and Vice-President of the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG) and Mr. David Melua, executive director of the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG), with the representatives of the executive board of NALAG – Ms. Iana Beriani, Mr. Giorgi Dabrundashvili, Mr. David Katamadze, Mr. Lasha Chichinadze along with Mr. Giorgi Tatuashvili, Mayor of Dmanisi Municipality attended the Forum of EU-EAP Local Leader: 10th Anniversary of the Eastern Partnership.

Forum aimed at strengthening the cooperation between European Union and Eastern Partnership countries, share the good practice in localizing sustainable development goals and inspire the future EaP Framework.

Mayors of European cities and municipalities, as well as representatives of the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, PLATFORMA and representatives of other international organizations attended this forum. Together with the Secretary General of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) Ms. Tamar Taliashvili addressed the audience with a welcoming speech.

The main focus of the speakers was on the priorities, results and future challenges of the sustainable development of the Eastern Partnership countries.

Ms. Tamar Taliashvili spoke about the importance of the Eastern Partnership in the process of institutional improvement of local government, she emphasized the need for localization of sustainable development goals and about the importance of increasing role of municipalities in fulfilling these goals. The Vice-president of NALAG presented the achievements of Georgia’s decentralization reform and outlined the role and achievements of the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia in establishing good governance on the local level.

Mr. David Melua, executive director of the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia gave the speech during the 3rd Session of the forum which was about Lithuanian cooperation with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

During the speech Mr. David Melua spoke about the process of decentralization in Georgia and discussed the international projects implemented in Georgian cities and municipalities. He also introduced the audience to the goals and objectives of the new decentralization strategy and highlighted the need of participation of European partners in the process of implementation of this strategy.

On behalf of the Congress of the Council of Europe, Tamar Taliashvili focused on the needs and priorities of local authorities in the Eastern Partnership region, as well as the role of Congress in the implementation of the principles of the European Charter on Local Self-Government in the Eastern Partnership region.

During the interactive workshop Mr. David Melua talked about the role of NALAG in the process of decentralization, advocacy tools and ways to reach political consensus.

At the end of the forum, the working groups agreed on a recommendation package, which was welcomed by the Forum Summary Committee and forwarded to the European Commission for further action.

Georgian Delegation was invited to participate in this forum by PLATFORMA the coalition of local and regional governments and their associations active in Development cooperation.

Forum of EU – EAP local leaders to celebrate 10th Anniversary of the Eastern Partnership was organizes by the Association of Local Authorities of Lithuania, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania and PLATFORMA the coalition of local and regional governments and their associations active in Development cooperation, with the support of the European Union.